Chernobyl: distorted reality, and unanswered questions

We have just returned after completing an important mission in Ukraine – taking around 70 journalists from 18 countries with us to Chernobyl, nearly 25 years after the nuclear catastrophe. It was one of the largest media trips Greenpeace has organized. These seasoned journalists asked critical and insightful questions, none of them easily moved.

But many of them were deeply disturbed by what they saw and heard – often by the mundane details that were mentioned matter-of-factly by the interviewees.

Like every year Ukraine government needs to spend between six to eight percent of the fiscal budget to cope with the consequences of Chernobyl.

Like how tens of thousands of Ukrainian children need to be sent away every year to uncontaminated areas for at least a month, in order to allow the body to get rid of some of the Cesium-137 accumulated through eating everyday food like milk, mushrooms, berry jam and meat.

Like how children of Rokytne get tonsillitis several times a year because their immune systems are compromised by radionuclide. According to deputy head doctor from the District Hospital, two-thirds of the population of 53,000 he cares for is affected by Cesium-137 contamination in food. Rokytne is 300km away from Chernobyl, on the other side of the country.

Like how the local health and sanitary station in some areas need to make maps to tell local communities where the radiation hotspots are and thus unsafe to go.

Like how in school children are taught the practical steps of radiation safety, and do emergency drills with gas masks.

Like how young expectant mothers get advice about what food they need to avoid, in order to minimise radionuclide uptake, which causes deformity in the developing fetus. They need frequent checks and if the fetus develops serious deformity then it may have to be aborted.

Like how it is considered impolite to ask workers building the new sarcophagus about their personal radiation dose. If it reaches the limit then they cannot work, which means they lose their job.

Like how radioactive waste containment and management had become an important sector of the economy, because of the Chernobyl disaster. The original sarcophagus, hastily built in the months after the accident, is meant to only last 25-30 years and now at risk of collapse. Underneath, the destroyed reactor is still on site and cannot be dismantled because of its extreme radioactivity.

The consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster lie in these mundane everyday facts. Life for these communities is brutally distorted, for centuries to come.

However, when I returned from Ukraine, I was hit by another distorted reality.

Nuclear proponents now claim that – despite the fact that the situation in the Fukushima nuclear plant is still not under control, despite the massive amount of radioactive water dumped into the sea with unknown consequence – Fukushima proves that nuclear energy is safe, because so far no one has been killed by the radiation?

I want them to say that to the doctors and the parents who are told that the state can now only afford to send children away for breaks in clean areas for 18 days per year. Nuclear supporters probably don’t know that it takes 50 days for the body of a child (100 days for adult) to get rid of half of its radioactive Cesium-137.

I want them to say that to the public health officials who are struggling to find funding to continue monitoring food contamination.

I want them to say that to the young woman who told us her favourite fruit is the blueberries from the forests. She knows they are contaminated by Cesium but she cannot help eating them sometimes.

I want them to take human life more seriously. There are 442 nuclear power plants in the world today and the majority are aging. There will be leaks, power outages, human errors, design flaws. The nuclear industry has no solutions to the radioactive waste problem. How many more life-crippling nuclear disasters will it take before the world gets rid of this outdated, dangerous and unnecessary technology?

Human life isn't important to companies. Corporations control governments and laws, therefore no one cares about human life but us humans. And the fac...

Human life isn't important to companies. Corporations control governments and laws, therefore no one cares about human life but us humans. And the fact of the matter is no one is there dealing with that issue so no one cares.

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(Unregistered) Andrew
says:

I totally agree and actually happen to work for a man who lived in Chernobyl during the accident. Coincidently, he has two severly autistic children t...

I totally agree and actually happen to work for a man who lived in Chernobyl during the accident. Coincidently, he has two severly autistic children that I care for. His first son who he had before the incident is healthy. I wish I could have a job working with Greenpeace; I know I can write a better article than this. Good subject, terrible writing.

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(Unregistered) Magamigo
says:

Thank you to Greenpeace to be so much involved in that fight against nuclear industry and stupidity : this fight is the main fight... Thank you to go ...

Thank you to Greenpeace to be so much involved in that fight against nuclear industry and stupidity : this fight is the main fight... Thank you to go where we can't go and also take risks for us... To be witnesses of this human-made disasters which are the shame of humanity.

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(Unregistered) Mr. Curiosity
says:

Thanks Iris for this great informative written article.

I wish that corporations and governments would stop lying to themselves and the r...

Thanks Iris for this great informative written article.

I wish that corporations and governments would stop lying to themselves and the rest of the world. Money is not something you can take with you when you die so why should it have preference over human life.

Death is imminent and will happen so why do we as humans do our best to hide anything including responsibility when we should take our penance and show our responsibility to the victims and to the world.

My thoughts are with the earthquake, radiation and tsunami victims in Japan. But also with the victims and people suffering from the disaster of Chernobyl.

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(Unregistered) Helen
says:

Who are they trying to kid. I "had" to take a radio active pill 8 weeks ago to "fix" a thyroid problem. The ditributing nurse shra...

Who are they trying to kid. I "had" to take a radio active pill 8 weeks ago to "fix" a thyroid problem. The ditributing nurse shrank into the corner of the room as the leaden container was opened and I swallowed the pill. I was told to make my way out of the hospital as quickly as possible,not touching anything or anyone !!!!!!!!!!!Then I had to isolate myself for 10 days , 15 where children were concerned. and no contact with the dogs.I remind you this was a little pill not the huge amounts we are talking here. Shame on you profiteering bastards and shame on the governments allowing it to happen, their fingers,no doubt stuck way into the money pie

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(Unregistered) Onamor
says:

To lable the disaster in Japan as purely manmade isn't accurate because it was nature that provided the earthquake and tsunami. Even without the nucle...

To lable the disaster in Japan as purely manmade isn't accurate because it was nature that provided the earthquake and tsunami. Even without the nuclear plant it would have been a disaster. Obviously the plant was not built to withstand this level of earthquake. Here is where the miscalculation comes in, if we are going to rely on nuclear power then it must be done more cautiously, establishing dater measures not in place because of cost, well when you look at the cost of every nuclear disaster was any money saved

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(Unregistered) Nobel Women's Initiative
says:

Thank you for keeping up such an important discussion about nuclear energy. It is frightening and vastly devastating, as you speak of above. I am enjo...

Thank you for keeping up such an important discussion about nuclear energy. It is frightening and vastly devastating, as you speak of above. I am enjoying following your blog.

I wanted to give the heads up that 9 Nobel Peace Laureates just released (yesterday evening) an open letter to world wide leaders calling for the phasing out of nuclear power production. It is written commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and only weeks after the disaster in Japan. Here is the link to the press release: http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/media-room/article/no-to-nuclear-power

Given the interest here in the dangers of nuclear and taking a critical look at Chernobyl, we thought you might be interested in writing about it and spreading the word. All the best.

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(Unregistered) AdamS
says:

Lots of fear-mongering based on ancient Russian technology is what I can get from this article...

Well done to Greenpeace for playing successfully on people's fears. Killing more than 100 people per year from green energy is fine, but having an accident which news and so called green organizations can get lots of publicity from is apparently much worse O.o.... To bad humans are not rational decision makers. Check this out to see what I mean.